Travel Matters, KT&T demand $1,046m
Two tour operators, Travel Matters and Kenpong Travel and Tours (KT&T), are separately claiming a total of $1,046m as amount owed them for their services in lifting supporters to Brazil.
While Travel Matters claimed the Ministry owed them $790,000, Kenpong said they were yet to present an invoice of $256,000 being what the government was expected to refund to them for flying 270 fans.
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Allocation
Narrating his role in airlifting supporters to Brazil during yesterday's sitting, Ivan Cudjoe, who runs Travel Matters, said he was only allotted 100 supporters, while KT&T and Africa Origin got 270 each.
Based on his small allocation, he thought of pulling out to concentrate on selling tickets to corporate clients since he, together with Litina Travel and Tour, had chartered three flights and paid for them.
He said he was impressed upon to help, for which he agreed to carry the supporters. He told the Commission enquiring about Black Stars’ poor showing in Brazil that he charged the tour operators $2,500 per supporter to put their supporters on his flight.
Corporate and Government supporters
Mr George Amoako, Group Director of Finance of KT&T, said he paid a total of $200,000 to Travel Matters to help lift their corporate and government supporters but upon further interrogation by the Commission, it emerged that the amount could only cover his corporate clients.
Amoako said on the day of the first flight, they were told that the government had paid a total of $1m to Ivan Cudjoe on their behalf, but he had not given them the difference when they charged their clients $2,600 each.
The KT&T Director of Finance said even though the ministry ordered them to cancel the accommodation they had already secured for the supporters, owners of the facilities in Brazil demanded to be compensated.
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The Commission, chaired by Justice Senyo Dzamefe, with Lawyer Moses Foh-Amoaning and Mr Kofi Anokye Owusu Darko as members, continues its sitting at 10 a.m. today at the Media Centre of the Accra Sports Stadium.